2015 Toyota Sienna Debuts with Updated Styling, Loudspeaker for Shouting at Children

More of the sanity-saving stuff that parents value.

ALEXANDER STOKLOSA

Jul 17, 2014

Compared with, say, the compact-crossover arena, the minivan segment is a post-apocalyptic wasteland, occupied as it is by a small number of vehicles fighting over buyers in Mad Max–style battles to the death. Okay, so the minivan game isn’t actually that ominous, but there’s no question that the shift away from the family-friendly devices toward three-row crossovers has dramatically reduced the number of entries. With only Honda’s Odyssey and Chrysler’s twins to seriously fend off—although the new Kia Sedona at least looks sharp—Toyota probably didn’t need to update its Sienna minivan for 2015, but it went ahead and did so anyway.

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No ToyotaVac, Which Sucks

First things first: Buyers keen on the novelty of the refreshed-for-2014 Honda Odyssey’s available built-in vacuum cleaner needn’t turn to the Sienna. It doesn’t have a built-in suckage device. On the other hand, the Sienna does get an all-new interior and a cosmetically tweaked exterior, and Toyota is resurrecting the Swagger Wagon theme that debuted with the launch of the current-generation Sienna back in 2010.

The lineup stays the same, with the base LE sitting below XLE, SE, and Limited trim levels. Every Sienna gets updated aerodynamics and a stiffened structure. There are new headlights for the SE and Limited. New taillights and a new grille are fitted to all but the SE.

Inside, Toyota has added more stuff to make owners’ lives easier. For the driver, there is a restyled gauge cluster with an available 4.2-inch driver information display, while both front passengers can take advantage of a more logically arrayed HVAC control panel. The audio and infotainment systems are brought up to current Toyota spec (the 2014 Sienna still made do with the automaker’s last-gen systems), and a “Dual-View” rear-seat entertainment display that plays Blu-Ray discs is now available.

Kids, The Third Row No Longer Offers Sweet Respite

On the safety front, Toyota fitted a seat-cushion airbag for the front passenger, while other airbags were enlarged. For parents with multiple car seats, there is good news on the LATCH seat-anchor count: There are now four, one more than last year. And now parents can more easily bark at their kids in the way back, as Toyota’s Driver Easy Speak feature is new and allows front occupants to speak into a microphone and broadcast their iron-fisted decrees via the rearmost speakers.

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Toyota has left the Sienna’s mechanicals alone, meaning the minivan is still powered by a 266-hp 3.5-liter V-6. A six-speed automatic transmission is standard, and buyers can opt for either front- or all-wheel drive. Sienna buyers used to be able to buy their vans with a four-cylinder engine, but Toyota mercifully axed that underpowered variant for 2013.

Are these updates enough to stanch the flow of buyers from minivans to more stigma-free crossovers like the automaker’s own Highlander? Likely not, but now the van has more to offer families who want the ultimate in practicality. We’ve never found much to complain about regarding the Sienna—its fourth-place finish in our last minivan comparison test had more to do with it not standing out in any specific way—and at least in sporty SE guise, it is sort of fun to drive. But we’ll need to wait to drive the 2015 iteration to see if the changes elevate the entire lineup. Pricing will be announced closer to the van’s on-sale date later this year.